When I was still working on my master's degree in library and information science, I wondered if there were any role models in our field. I kept reading about Zarah Gagatiga and her storytelling and observed that she seemed to be one of the very few Filipino librarians whose name got mentioned as often as the library where she worked (note: most articles about libraries in the Philippines hardly ever mention the librarian's name).

Well, I finally met her at the workshop I attended last week. And it turns out that an article on her appeared in my favorite newspaper that same day! Check out "The new librarian sheds hackneyed image" by Ime Morales Aznar (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 April 2005), where Zarah says:

I feel very passionate about my job because it's my way of making my life meaningful. I don't look at it as a job to be done. This is my contribution to children, to future generations. It's something that I really like to do. And it feels good to be a librarian.